We have experience with anonymous blogs in these islands. To some they seem harmless enough. However gossip is like a virus, it goes from the source from person to person. Distortions can occur with repetition and these distortions naturally increase with distance from the source. Soon the original comment which may have been tongue in cheek turns into new “facts” which can be quite harmful.
When one makes an anonymous commentary one is disclaiming any responsibility for the consequences, which is both cowardly and irresponsible. This is specially true in our society where it is easy for unstable personalities to obtain guns.
Responsible editors do not print anonymous letters for very good reasons. If you know of someone putting out an anonymous blog, let them know they are being both cowardly and irresponsible.
Together we can restore civil discourse and make real progress dealing with the important issues that face the San Juan Islands.
Sincerely,
Rick Steinhardt
Deer Harbor
I agree. “anonymous” leters, posting, etc should not be allowed on any media.
Thank you, Rick. I so agree with you.
Oh my word, how did we get from blogs to gossip to guns? I take it that Mr. Steinhardt is not out there on the internet much with the younger folk, but it’s a fact of life that the more delicate sensibilities may be be offended. I myself am occasionally surprised by what my own grown children believe is acceptable public comment these days, but at bottom I trust in the First Amendment because, frankly, no better system has presented itself. “Gossip” and humor and the “telephone game” nature of information flow all existed well before the internet, perhaps even more so in the islands than elsewhere.
At the same time, if you have a complaint, state it. Don’t wallow in generalities. For there to be meaningful discussion, the participants need to know what they are discussing. It makes much more sense, if one has a complaint about a piece of “gossip,” to state what it is and why it’s wrong, or even–if repeating gossip offends you, just state your view of the facts and what supports it. Which blog is the writer referring to? Which story? Which facts are misrepresented there? What’s the real story? I do not think that islanders, especially not the younger ones, are ready for Gossip Police.
Finally, I can understand why Mr. Steinhardt may not want guns in his own home, but bringing them into this discussion as if there were some connection between speech and guns strikes me as just plain wrong.